Michael Weiss - Homage (2023)

Michael Weiss has always had the ear of some of the most imposing soloists in jazz. The seasoned pianist has been a top-call sideman to a starry constellation of bandleaders during his career, from a 15-year tenure with tenor saxophonist Johnny Griffin to extensive tours, club dates, or recordings with George Coleman, Charles McPherson, Lou Donaldson, Benny Golson, Art Farmer, Lou Donaldson and many others.

Among the many qualities that these jazz legends have responded to in Weiss' conception is its aesthetic breadth and depth. His improvising and writing is rooted in bebop fundamentals but also expansive, reflecting contemporary approaches to melodic development, rhythmic and textural variety, and formal ingenuity. Above all, Weiss is a musician who communicates his own personal view of the world. His music pulsates with a strong emotional commitment and hard-won individuality. George Coleman, well-known as a saxophonist unwilling to suffer any musician who doesn’t meet the highest artistic standards, put it this way in 2022: “Michael is very inventive and creative, and he has been for a very long time. He’s harmonically adept and has a fantastic right hand. He’s gifted. He deserves more attention.”

With Weiss' sideman credentials well established, he has recently concentrated on honing his distinctive language with his own trio. In addition to club and festival work and touring, he has produced a growing series of recordings that document his sophisticated original compositions and inventive arrangements of off-the-beaten track repertoire and standards. Homage, which features Paul Sikivie on bass and Pete Van Nostrand on drums, finds the trusted piano veteran in exceptional form on his second outing for Cellar Live, following 2022’s well-received quartet album Persistence.

Reviewing the latter in Jazz Times, Martin Johnson wrote that Weiss “is neither a revivalist nor a classicist, but a virtuoso who dives into harmonic textures and melodic structures in search of beauty and surprise.” Meanwhile, Ted Panken wrote in Downbeat, “Weiss merges old-school idiomatic particulars with progressive aesthetics.”

On Homage, the program combines six Weiss originals, including the sparkling leadoff track “Un Petit Quelque Chose” (“a little something”), with eloquent, insightful, deeply swinging readings of “Lullaby of the Leaves,” “I’ll Remember April” and “Skylark.” Then there’s the uncommon and beguiling Clare Fischer composition “Suddenly,” not to mention an exuberant take of Charlie Parker’s lesser-known “An Oscar for Treadwell” included here “as a dedication to the great pianist and educator Barry Harris,” Weiss writes in his liner notes. “Barry left us not long ago after a fruitful and full life bringing the art of melody to listeners and students around the world. He was a close comrade for over 40 years and left an indelible mark on my musical personality.”

There are other dedicatees as well, some quite specific, others less direct. “The Griffin” honors the late Chicago tenor great, Weiss’s stateside employer for 15 years, “short in stature but a giant ball of fire on the saxophone.” “We Love Horace,” for the dearly missed hardbop pioneer, is “one of those tunes that just flowed out in one pass,” Weiss says. “Upon reflection, the melody and detailing appear to have that Silverian flavor.” The quote of Silver’s “Doodlin’” that ends the piano solo is the chef’s kiss.

Selections for Homage came about through what Weiss describes as “a leisurely process of tweaking and editing on the bandstand, the best laboratory for developing and refining ideas in organic fashion.” “I’ll Remember April,” for instance, cooled way down from its typical
uptempo treatment, is particularly adventurous in its orchestration and harmonic reworking. As a result, improvising on the form becomes a new prospect, putting the trio’s subtle chemistry under a microscope.

“A World Away,” though not intended as a tribute, reveals what is perhaps the unconscious influence of Bobby Hutcherson in its modern 6/8 groove, thorny chromaticism and majestic melody. “It’s a melancholy theme with two sections that eventually concludes on a bright note,” writes the pianist, who keeps the take concise and makes it count. “Hale-Bopp,” named for the comet discovered in 1995, is a kind of tribute to jazz itself, “a piece spun out of the bebop vernacular, but with a few harmonic twists,” says Weiss. The trio’s rhythmic precision is key on this intricate head, setting up a bright walking swing feel and a piano solo packed with edge-of-seat invention. “Pete continues the conversation with a perfect chorus,” Weiss writes, “demonstrating why he is one of the most in-demand drummers in New York today.” Weiss also singles out Sikivie’s leadoff bass solo on “Lullaby of the Leaves” for its “melodic ingenuity and solid beat.”

“Homage,” with an elegant and darkly hued lyricism, “was originally composed as the second movement of a suite,” Weiss explains. “After trying a variety of rhythms, the bolero seemed to fit best. Except for one short solo section, it is entirely composed. While it’s not dedicated to anyone in particular, it feels like an homage nonetheless.” The same can be said for the album Homage as a whole, affording us one of the most intimate and sustained views of Michael Weiss's artistry to date.

TRACKLIST

1. Michael Weiss - Un Petit Quelque Chose
2. Michael Weiss - Hale-Bopp
3. Michael Weiss - I'll Remember April
4. Michael Weiss - The Griffin
5. Michael Weiss - Homage
6. Michael Weiss - Suddenly
7. Michael Weiss - We Love Horace
8. Michael Weiss - Skylark
9. Michael Weiss - Lullaby of the Leaves
10. Michael Weiss - A World Away
11. Michael Weiss - An Oscar For Treadwell